Hurricane Sandy Shuts Down Markets

Hurricane Sandy is bringing all of New York and most of the East coast to a near standstill. The stock exchanges are closed today, and are likely to remain closed on Tuesday as well. Advance notice of the storm over the weekend appears to have mitigated the amount of market disruption the shutdown has caused … Continued

Risk, Reward and Energy Independence

It is becoming increasingly clear that the US is becoming less dependent on foreign energy. On a 12-month rolling average, domestic output hit 6.1 million barrels a day in July, up roughly 19% in three years. In 2005, the US imported 60% of its oil. That’s now down to about 42%. Increases in domestic energy … Continued

Handicapping the Presidential Election

With increasing frequency, investors are trying to handicap the upcoming Presidential Election. For example, many investors are in the camp that if Mitt Romney is elected, the market will react favorably. Alternatively, many fear that if President Obama is re-elected, the market may be negatively impacted. As I reflect on the upcoming election, I have … Continued

Think it Through

A client forwarded an article to me regarding the strong movement of the stock market and suggesting a sale of stocks. He wanted my input – My response, and the actual article, follows. Bob Bilkie, CFA ——————– Dear xxxx: Well, I don’t know. If you read the comments of the “expert” cited in the article, … Continued

Pessimistic on Short-term, Optimistic on Long-term

Recently released data showing that the growth in China has slowed is raising concern for its once fast-growing economy. China has long relied on exportsto fuel their growth. Exports generated 31% of GDP in 2011, according to World Bank data, and support an estimated 200 million jobs – around a quarter of the country’s workforce. … Continued

Know What You Own

The Wall Street Journal (WJS) recently published an article highlighting the fact that many bond fund managers have been beating their respective benchmarks in recent times. In fact, Morningstar has identified at least 187 bond funds that are posting positive relative performance. Included among this list are some of the largest bond fund managers in … Continued